Krishna is worshipped fourteen times a day by the paryaaya
Swamiji and others. The rituals begin at dawn and go late into the
night. For the devotee who spends the whole day in Sri Krishna Mutt,
there is never-ending bliss and excitement. Periodically during the
different rituals the door to the navagraha window is opened
and there is a mad rush to have His darshana. While waiting
for these times, the devotees circumambulate the shrine, sit and
meditate, and watch the local women as they come into the shrine and
draw rangolii for the pleasure of the Lord. These drawings
range from the pleasantly simple to the magnificently ornate.

The first ten of these puujaa-s take place in the forenoon and
the remaining four in the evening. In this way the Lord of fourteen
worlds is offered fourteen types of puujaa-s everyday.

nirmaalya visarjana puujaa

At 4:00 A.M. the door of the shrine is opened. The Swamiji in charge
of the two-year paryaaya takes his bath in the Madhva Sarovara, and after his
meditation and tarpaNa (libation) in the room adjacent to the
garbha guDi (sanctum sanctorum), he enters the shrine. While
the priests chant the Vedas and the bells ring, the Swamiji removes
the flowers, sacred tuLasii leaves, sandalwood paste, etc.,
from the icon.

He then removes the ornaments used for dressing the icon on the
previous day. The bare icon of Krishna holding a churning rod, which
was originally revealed to Sri Madhva, can now be seen. This view of
the unadorned Lord is known as vishvaruupa darshana. (The
picture on the cover of the Dvaita Home Page web suite is of Krishna's
vishvaruupa darshana.)

After the nirmaalya is removed, there is a five-fold service
offered to Sri Krishna. TuLasii leaves and sandalwood paste
are offered and morning breakfast is offered. Arati is
offered on a round plate.

The dishes offered at this service are flat rice and curd (yogurt),
groundnuts, ginger, jaggery, coconut, betel leaves and nuts.

ushaHkaala puujaa

After removing the previous day's decorations and flowers, the Swamiji
pours water on the icon from two silver pots. After the icon is
completely washed, the ushaHkaala puujaa is
performed. Sandalwoodwood paste and tuLasii leaves are
offered, and naivedya of rice, milk, curd, tender coconut
water, banana, coconut, and betel leaves and nuts is then offered.
Eight aarati-s are waved around the icon after
naivedya.

akshaya paatra puujaa -- gopuujaa

Then the Swamiji performs puuja to the akshaya
paatra and the cows. The akshaya paatra and ladle were
presented to Krishna Mutt by Sri Madhva himself, with the blessing
that the annadaana, or mass feeding of devotees, would
continue in this holy place forever. This is the reason behind the
worship of these items to this day.

Cows have free access and freedom of movement in the precincts of Sri
Krishna Mutt. This is to commemorate the sport of Krishna who, in the
form of a young boy, used to graze cows while sporting with the gopa
youth and maidens in Vrindavan. The cows which come out of the
cow-shed in the morning move about inside the shrine. A cow specially
selected for the worship stands at the doors of the sanctum sanctorum
and the Swamiji worships her.

Fried rice, laddus of country sugar, banana, etc, are offered to Sri
Krishna and then aarati is performed. The same lamp used for
offering aarati to Krishna is then waved around the
akshaya paatra and the cow. The dishes are offered to the
cows.

This can be an exciting time for the devotee. There is nothing like
having your reverie broken when a very pushy cow brushes past you on
her way to receive the remnants of the dishes offered to Sri
Krishna. These cows have the uncanny ability to stand still for what
seems like forever, while having their necks and throats rubbed and
scratched by the Lord's devotees.

panchaamrtaabhisheka puujaa

This ritual is to be performed by the paryaaya Swamiji himself. While
the priests chant the Vedic hymns in the hall known as suurya shaale,
the sandalwood paste and flowers are removed and the icon of Sri Krishna is
thoroughly washed. The Swamiji then pours coins of gold over it. Next, after
worshipping the conch, the panchaamrta is poured on the icon. The
abhisheka begins when a conch full of ghee is poured on the head of the
icon and it flows down to the feet. Then milk, curd, honey and sugar are poured
in that order. Tender coconut water is then poured on the icon for final
cleaning. Water from thirty-two tender coconuts is used for the
abhisheka.

After this abhisheka to Sri Krishna, sandalwood paste, flowers and
tuLasii leaves are offered. Rice, coconut, and betel leaves and nuts are
offered as naivedya and eight aarati-s are performed. The
materials of abhisheka are then taken and poured on the icon of Hanuman.
After this they are distributed to the devotees as sanctified water.

udvartana puujaa

Sri Krishna is then cleansed of oil and ghee, etc, and this fifth ritual is known
as udvartana puujaa. Sri Krishna is rubbed with the powder of green gram
to remove the grease, and then hot water is poured. Sandalwood paste, flowers and
tuLasii are offered and then hot rice, milk, butter, and tender coconut
are offered. Arati is then waved on a round plate.

kaLasha puujaa

The sixth puujaa is when Sri Krishna is bathed in pure water. Before
this ritual begins, two golden pots are filled with clean water and the presiding
deities of kaLasha are invoked. This is known as kaLasha
puujaa. The golden pots are decorated with tuLasii and sandalwood
paste and the Swamiji sanctifies this water with the chanting of praNava
mantra, muula mantra, and the Krishna-mantra.

PiiTha puujaa is then performed, naivedya is offered, and
aarati is waved. The rice offered at this time is later offered to the
icon of GaruDa.

Up until the tiirtha puujaa one can have the vishvaruupa
darshana of Krishna.

tiirtha puujaa

Now the ritual of abhisheka takes place. While the priests chant the
Purushha suukta, the Swamiji pours holy water on Sri Krishna from the
golden pots. After collecting the poured water in the tiirtha pot, the
icon is gently wiped with a silken cloth.

Sandalwood paste and flowers are offered and then naivedya of pan cake,
butter, jaggery, pudding, coconut, banana, and betel leaves and nuts is offered.
Eight aarati-s are then waved.

alankaara puujaa

The next ritual is the decoration of Sri Krishna with various kinds of ornaments,
armours, and halo-like arches. Rice, pudding, laddus, flat rice, curds,
kosumbari, etc., are offered and sixteen aarati-s are waved. During
alankaara (decoration), the navagraha window is closed to devotees.

Once the alankaara puujaa is completed, devotees can have
darshana with Sri Krishna wearing His new ornaments and costumes. The
icon of Sri Krishna is decorated differently each day to present a new image to
the devotees. The only part of the icon not covered is the face. If Krishna wears
a golden halo one day, He is dressed in an armor of diamonds the next, and so on.
The icon is presented as the incarnation of Matsya (fish),
Kuurma (tortoise), and Parashuraama or Raama on different occasions.
There is a large treasure trove of ornaments made of silver, gold, diamonds,
pearls and other costly stones. Many kings of Vijayanagar and from the Mysore
palace have offered ornaments through the ages, to Krishna. As seen in the
picture shown, the icon when dressed as the charioteer of Arjuna is quite
breathtaking. This decoration is one of the special seva-s offered to
Udupi Sri Krishna. The utsava-muurti is made of metal and is of the
'traditional' South Indian style. The main Krishna icon in the
garbha-guDi is of stone. In the photograph, the main icon of Krishna is
standing as it always does, but it has been decorated with an armour of
handbeaten gold and silver. The four white horses pulling the chariot are of
silver and the chariot is made of gold. Arjuna's icon is silver. The horses are
placed in front of Sri Krishna in such a way as their tails are in front of His
legs. The chariot is also arranged in such a way as to complete the illusion that
Krishna is really sitting in the driver's seat. Sri Krishna's hands are made of
gold; His right hand is in fact placed on the churning rod and his left is
attached at his waist. These decorations are arranged to be at a slight angle so
that the chariot would appear to be travelling from, say, north-east to
south-west, not in a straight line across one's vision. This makes everything
appear to be quite real.

Although the photo looks fabulous, the actual sight of this tableau through the
nine hole window just overpowers the mind. In the flickering lamp light it
appears as if one is actually seeing Sri Krishna and Arjuna on the battlefield.
Of course, as would be expected, artificial lighting has never been used inside
the garbhaguDi.

It is also of note that every Friday the icon is decorated with female
costumes, as a goddess (see the cover page of
this section for an illustrative example). During the Navaratri
festival, the icon is decked as a different goddess on each of the
nine days.

It is said that once, for a whole paryaaya, Krishna was not
decorated at all. The Swamiji wanted the devotees to worship Him as He
is, and not for the glory of His ornaments. During this time a very
important family came to have darshana, and the woman was
upset that Sri Krishna was not dressed. That evening she removed all
her gold and jewels and gave them to the Swamiji to use for Sri
Krishna the next day. The next morning after the alankaara
puujaa, she complained to the Swamiji that her gifts had not been
used. He told her that if she returned during the next
paryaaya she would see the icon dressed with her jewellery,
but for the duration of the present one, the Lord would be worshipped
unadorned.

avasara sanakaadi puujaa

The alankaara puujaa need not be performed by the
paryaaya Swamiji himself. But the next two rituals, namely
avasara sanakaadi puujaa and the mahaa puujaa, are
to be performed by the paryaaya Swamiji only; none else is
authorized to perform these two rituals. The ninth ritual, namely the
avasara sanakaadi puujaa is a peculiar ritual performed only
to Sri Krishna in Udupi.

The reason for this ritual is that Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and
Sanatkumara are the originators of the lineage of Srimad Ananda
Tiirtha. It is known as the Sanaka lineage. Starting from these four
divine beings, the lineage continues through Duurvaasa, Paratiirtha,
Satya Prajna, Prajnatirtha and other saints. Saint Achyuta Prajna
also belongs to this tradition. Then comes Sri Madhva. The lineage
continues through the eight Swamijis of the Udupi
ashhTa-maTha-s and also through Padmanabha Tiirtha. Thus
Sanaka and others are at the head of the Maadhva
guru-paramparaa.

When Sri Madhva installed the icon of Sri Krishna which came from
Dwaarakaa, the Sanaka-s also wanted to worship the icon which had been
worshipped by Rukmini herself. Sri Madhva permitted the Sanaka-s to
offer services to Krishna in privacy before he himself performed the
main puujaa Thus the tradition of worship by Sanaka and
others has continued daily for the past seven centuries.

Before the worship begins, the navagraha window is closed. The
Swamiji also comes out of the shrine and waits in the adjacent
room. Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanatkumara come inside the
sanctum sanctorum in solitude, and offer their services to Sri
Krishna. The shrine is reserved for these invisible divine beings for
some time. Then the Swamiji enters the shrine, offers
naivedya and waves eight aarati-s.

mahaa puujaa

After the saints Sanaka and others complete their services to the
Lord, it is believed that Sri Madhva himself performs the main
puujaa through the agency of the paryaaya
Swamiji. The mahaa puujaa is the last service in the
forenoon.

Before performing the mahaa puujaa, the paryaaya
Swamiji once again goes to the Madhva-sarovara to have a bath in the
tank.

The drum known as nagaari is beaten to announce the commencement of
the ritual. When the Swamiji begins his rituals, the priests begin to
chant the Vishnu-sahasra-naama and Vedic texts.

The sound of the beating drum conveys the message to the whole town
that the Swamiji is going to take a bath prior to this worship. Those
who desire to witness the mahaa puujaa now begin to make
their way towards Sri Krishna Mutt.

At the end of the archana, different dishes are offered as
naivedya. This offering consists of fourteen ser-s
of rice, sweet pudding, paramaanna, huggii,
appa, vaDe chakkuli, gullorige,
hoLige, atirasa, laDDu, laDDige,
panchakajjaaya, milk, curds, fruits, coconut, betel leaves
and nuts, etc. At the same time, rice cake and rice gruel, in
remembrance of Kanaka Dasa, are offered in a silver bowl.

The Swamiji places tuLasii leaves onto the dishes and then
comes out of the shrine for some time. It is believed that Sri Madhva
himself comes into the shrine now to offer the dishes to Krishna.

After this offering of naivedya, aaratis are waved
by the Swamiji and the assembled devotees ring bells and play
different kinds of musical instruments such as shankha and
taaLa. This mahaa puujaa is a feast to the eyes and
ears of the devotees assembled in the shrine.

The Swamiji then makes his way to the shrine of Mukhya PraaNa and
offers worship. The naivedya which was offered to Sri
Krishna is now offered to Mukhya PraaNa. The Swamiji performs
aarati both to Hanuman and Garuda.

The Swamiji then offers puujaa to the icon of Sri Madhva at
the entrance to the main shrine. He stands at the steps and performs
panchopachaara and waves aarati.

Proceeding to the room known as simhaasana, the Swamiji
performs puujaa to the deities of his Mutt which are located
here throughout the time of paryaaya. He then circumambulates the
shrine and prostrates himself before the icon of Sri Krishna.

From the main shrine, the Swamiji now goes to the tank and offers
oblation to the preceptors and saints and worships the icon of
Bhaagiirathi (the river Ganga). Then the naivedya is thrown
into the tank for the benefit of the fishes who live there.

From here the Swamiji proceeds towards the Subramanya shrine located
by the side of the Vasanta Mahal. After worshipping Subramanya he
visits the vrindavana and pays homage and offers holy water to his
preceptors. He also goes round the pipal tree there and finally
returns to the shrine of Krishna.

Back in the shrine, while sitting in the simhaasana, he
distributes holy water to the devotees and greets those special
visitors who have come to Udupi on pilgrimage. From the simhaasana he
makes his way to the cauki and takes his food in the company of
scholars and pilgrims. These are the activities of the mahaa
puujaa.

In the Afternoon

After lunch the Swamiji sits for a while in his simhaasana,
offers mantraakshatam to devotees and then returns to his
room. He engages himself there in teaching and scholarly discussions
with students and professors and also grants interviews to devotees.

The period 2:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. is resting time for the Mutt which
started its busy routine of activities at 4:00 A.M. This is the time
when devotees can enter the shrine at leisure and have
darshana of Sri Krishna without too much noise and rush.

At 4:00 P.M., the drum announces the commencement of the evening
rituals. Around 4:30 P.M., the scholars begin their discourses in the
candrashaalaa while the Swamiji listens. They continue till
around 6:00 P.M. when the sacred books are worshipped. The Swamiji
himself attends this puujaa and offers prasaada to
the assembled devotees. After this the singers assemble in the
chandrashaalaa and start singing devotional songs and the Swamiji goes
to the tank for another bath.

chaamara sevaa puujaa

While the Swamiji is engaged in his japa (meditation) after
his bath, the utsava-muurti (festival icon) -- a small metal
icon used in procession -- is brought to the maNTapa. A basket filled
with fried rice is placed on each side of the icon. Milk, fruit,
coconuts, betel leaves and nuts, and laDDu-s are placed in
front of the icon.

On both sides of the maNTapa the rows of oil lamps brighten
the area. The Swamiji completes his evening meditation and arrives at
the passage in between the maNTapa and
candrashaalaa. Two chowrii-s (hand-held fans used in
worship) made of yak's tail set in golden handles are kept there. The
Swamiji picks them up and waves them in front of the icon in an
intricate manner. This is the first of two rituals performed in
service of Krishna outside the garbha guDi. The second is the
maNTapa puujaa which takes place after the raatri
puujaa.

For about five minutes the Swamiji serves the Lord by fanning Him with
the chowrii-s. The Swamiji then hands over the chowries to
his disciples who continue to wave the chowries in an artistic manner.

The Swamiji himself now performs pa~nchopachaara puujaa by
offering the fried rice and jaggery kept in the baskets. Through the
navagraha window he waves aarati to Sri Krishna
inside the sanctum sanctorum, and then to the small icon on the
maNTapa. He then waves aarati to the icons of
Hanuman and GaruDa in the chandrashaalaa. From here the
Swamiji goes to his simhaasana and worships the icons of his
own MaTha.

raatri puujaa

From the simhaasana, the Swamiji enters the garbha
guDi for the raatri puujaa. After chanting the hundred
and eight names of Vishnu, he offers naivedya consisting of
tamarind rice, pancake, tender coconut, coconut,
panchakajjaaya, and betel leaf and nut. He then waves
aarati-s of different kinds.

Coming out of the sanctum sanctorum the Swamiji offers worship to the
icon of Sri Madhva at the entrance.

Musicians known as bhaagavata-s sing devotional songs along
with their disciples and dance according to the rhythm. Their service
to the Lord is a veritable feast for the eyes.

ranga puujaa to Hanuman

Rows of oil lamps are lit on both sides of the passage in between the
shrines of Mukhya PraaNa and GaruDa. The panchakajjaaya
offered to Sri Krishna's icon is now spread out on the plantain leaf
laid on the floor between the rows of lamps. The Swamiji offers this
dish to the icon of Mukhya Prana and waves aarati. This is a
special service offered to the intimate devotee of the Lord. The
famous prasaada of Udupi is this very panchakajjaaya dish
that has been offered to Krishna and Hanuman.

maNTapa puujaa

The festival icon of Sri Krishna is brought out in a palanquin and
placed in cradle in the maNTapa. The Swamiji then rocks the
cradle and while he is doing this, Sri Krishna is serenaded by the
musicians playing their instruments and singing. The Swamiji offers
fried rice and performs aarati. The maNTapa puujaa
is a feast for the eyes as well as for the ears.

This is also known as vaalaga maNTapa puujaa. In 1971, Sri
Vidyaamaanya Tiirtha Swamiji of Sri Palimar Mutt offered to Sri
Krishna the golden cradle used in this ritual.

During the month of vaishaakha this service is held in the
Vasanta Mahal. Formerly during the special festivals of the year, it
was held in the open place by the side of the Shirur Mutt in front of
the room in which the silver chariot is now housed.

When the Swamiji steps down from the maNTapa, he goes and
sits in the chandrashaalaa and listens to the eight kinds of
sevaa (service) offered to Krishna. These services are in
the form of Rg Veda sevaa, Yajur Veda sevaa, Saama
Veda sevaa, Atharva Veda sevaa, Vedanta
sevaa, Itihaasa sevaa, PuraaNa sevaa, and
sangiita (music) sevaa.

If a devotee has offered a special service that day he is given the
privilege of honouring the Swamiji by offering sandalwood paste and
waving aarati.

The icon of Krishna is now placed in the palanquin and taken around the
garbha guDi to the melodious accompaniment of the flute.

ekaanta sevaa -- shayanotsava puujaa

After the palanquin has gone around the shrine, it stops at the
entrance and Swamiji takes the icon of Sri Krishna into the first
room, where it is placed in a golden cradle. This cradle is situated
behind the entrance guarded by Sri Chenna Keshava. From now until the
dawn Krishna is supposed to sleep here. Only the Swamiji and his
immediate associates participate in this service and for this reason
it is known as ekaanta sevaa, worship in seclusion.

The golden cradle used in this ritual was offered by the Swamiji of Admar Mutt,
Sri Vibudhesha Tiirtha Swamiji, during his paryaya in 1973. This was accomplished
through the generous help of the Lord's devotees.

This is the termination of the fourteen services offered each day to
Lord Krishna. The Swamiji now sits on the simhaasana and distributes
prasaada to devotees and pilgrims. By around 11:00 P.M. all
the daily rituals in Sri Krishna Mutt have been completed and the
shrine is locked for the night, to reopen at 4:00 A.M. the next
morning for yet another day in the service of Krishna.

This section is due to Raymond Crawford. Much of the
material comes from a book published for the 1984 paryaaya of
H.H. Sri Vishwesha Tiirtha Swamiji, by Bannanje Govindacharya,
U.P. Upadhyaya, and Muralidhar Upadhyaya.